112 beachLIFE THE SONDER PROJECT THE LAST WORD
A Brief History of The Sonder Project
THE LITTLE-KNOWN STORY OF AN EXTRAORDINARY NONPROFIT …
It began as an idea . In early 2015 , the 360 Blue executive team of Ashley Horsley , Jason Sprenkle , and Jeremy Sprenkle were looking to embark on a project that would channel the company ’ s resources in an effort to help those most in need . The concept : A nonprofit that delivered the greatest impact at the lowest cost , with the company paying all administration expenses . This meant that 100 percent of every donation would go directly to providing aid . The vision was as simple and profound as that . And so , The Sonder Project was born .
No one , however , could have anticipated where it would all lead .
LITTLE SEEDS
One of the nonprofit ’ s first moves would be to partner with buildOn , an international nonprofit that constructed schools in remote corners of the world . Within a few months , a group of volunteers — many were 360 Blue employees — traveled from Santa Rosa Beach to Burkina Faso in western Africa to do just that .
It was here , in this impoverished sub-Saharan country , that they first met with Ahmed Kere , the in-country trip coordinator for buildOn , and Martin Nansia , the project ’ s Burkinabe translator . This initial overseas foray would set the tone for what was to come . The volunteers were awed by the Burkinabe culture and the gratitude of the people . They were also stunned by the country ’ s scarcity of food and clean water .
During their short time in Burkina Faso , the group also grew close to Ahmed and Martin . Shortly after their return to the States , they flew them both to Santa Rosa Beach to keep the ball rolling on a new slate of projects that included the construction of another school and the drilling of clean-water wells in various villages throughout the country . By day Ahmed and Martin took up surfing and swimming , and by night they set to work on plans . A few weeks later , Ahmed and Martin were back in Burkina Faso . With momentum building , a second trip was planned for Santa Rosa Beach volunteers to begin construction on the next school in late January of 2016 .
But that trip would never happen .
JANUARY 15 , 2016
It isn ’ t every day that events in Burkina Faso make international headlines . But there would be nothing normal about January 15 , 2016 . That evening , some 8,000 miles from Santa Rosa Beach , Ahmed and Martin were at a restaurant in Ouagadougou , the capital of Burkina Faso , having dinner with another group of buildOn volunteers and employees . During the meal , gunfire broke out , with gunmen indiscriminately shooting into the crowd .